Yellow Jasmine Rice

Okay, this is a pretty big statement to make, but… This Yellow Jasmine Rice is the best rice I’ve ever had.

Yep. The flavor is simply out of this world. The aroma as it cooked almost gave me a high. Plain white rice is dead to me now.

If you follow the blog you’re probably familiar with how much I love jasmine rice. I don’t know how I lived my whole life without knowing about it, but since discovering it a year or two ago, I just can’t stop. It’s incredible. If you haven’t tried jasmine rice yet, go find it NOW.

Jasmine rice is naturally fragrant and has the most wonderfully rich, mellow, and almost nutty flavor. You can find it at most major supermarkets either in the international foods aisle or in the rice section, usually on the bottom shelf. Even Walmart is in the jasmine rice game and is selling Great Value brand jasmine rice. It can be pricy if you buy one of those small specialty brand containers but if you buy an Asian brand (usually in larger bags on the bottom shelf), it can be just as inexpensive as regular rice. Also check bulk bins. Some stores will have jasmine rice (white AND brown) in bulk.

Anyway, I decided to kick up the jasmine rice by adding a few spices and something magical happened. The turmeric and cumin added to the rich, nutty flavor of the jasmine rice and the little pinch of cinnamon added just a hint of spicy sweetness… like hitting the cymbals on a drum kit. The first bite was so good, I swear I saw angels.

Okay, if you haven’t been weirded out by my rice-love manifesto, here’s the recipe:

Yellow Jasmine Rice

Yellow Jasmine Rice

This savory Yellow Jasmine Rice combines warm and fragrant Indian spices and chicken broth to make the most flavorful rice you've ever tasted!

Total Cost
$2.01 recipe / $0.34 serving

Prep Time5minutes

Cook Time40minutes

Total Time45minutes

Servings6cups

Ingredients

2Tbspbutter $0.22

2clovesgarlic, minced$0.16

1tspturmeric $0.10

1/4tspcumin $0.02

1/8tspcinnamon $0.02

2cupsuncooked long grain jasmine rice $0.96

3cupschicken broth* $0.38

1bay leaf, optional$0.15

Instructions

Add the butter, garlic, turmeric, cumin, and cinnamon to a medium sauce pot. Sauté over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, or just until the garlic has softened.

Add the dry rice to the pot. Stir and cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes to slightly toast the rice. You may hear a slight popping or crackling noise as the rice toasts.

Add the chicken broth and bay leaf to the pot. Place a lid on top, increase the heat to high, and bring the pot to a rolling boil. As soon as it reaches a full boil, reduce the heat to low and let it simmer (with the lid in place) for 20 minutes.

After letting it simmer for 20 minutes, turn the heat off and let it rest (do not remove the lid) for an additional 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve.

Recipe Notes

*I use Better Than Bouillon concentrate to make my broth, which provides plenty of salt to flavor the rice.

Step By Step Photos

Sauté the garlic and spices in the butter over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, or just until the garlic has softened.

Add 2 cups of uncooked long grain jasmine rice to the pot. I use this brand, which can be found in 5 lb. bags, usually on the bottom shelf of either the rice aisle, or the Asian section of major grocery stores.

Stir and cook the rice in the butter and spices for about 2 minutes. This will toast the rice and spices giving them a deeper, nuttier flavor. You should hear a popping or crackling noise as the rice toasts.

Add 3 cups of chicken broth to the pot, along with one bay leaf (if using). I use Better Than Bouillon to make my broth because it’s less expensive than buying cans/boxes of broth and way better quality than the little cubes. It also provides all the salt needed to season the rice.

Give everything a good stir, place a lid on top, and increase the heat to high. Bring it up to a full boil then immediately turn the heat down to low. Let it simmer on low (with the lid) for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, turn the heat off and let it sit undisturbed (do not remove the lid) for another 10 minutes. If you’re using a bay leaf, it will probably have floated up to the top and you can remove it at that point. You’ll also see swashes of spices over the surface.

Fluff the Yellow Jasmine Rice with a fork to redistribute all the spices, then serve!

247 comments on “Yellow Jasmine Rice”

WOW! This rice …Wow! I wanted some flavorful rice that was easy to make and this was it. Great flavor, great texture. My partner raved about it for days. I did use Better than Bouillon vegetable stock instead of chicken to make it vegetarian.

I agree it smelled fab while cooking however the complete absence of flavor was not worthy of the effort. My family said they would’ve preferred plain rice since they know not to expect it to have flavor. This beautiful looking rice was a dinner don’t.

The smell of this rice as it cooked was amazing! I changed a few things for our dietary needs since we eat a plant-based diet (vegan “butter” and plain water instead of broth, plus salt) and it still turned out yummy. Thanks for the easy and aromatic recipe.

Just made this. It was a hit. We are Vegan so I changed a few things. It was still so yummy. I used olive oil in place of the butter. I used Roasted Garlic Better Than Bouillon instead of chicken. I also was out of Jasmine rice. Only had basmati. I only used 1/16t cinnamon. Could definitely still taste it, but it was mild.

Forgot to add that I made this in my Instant Pot. Used the ‘saute’ feature to do the browning. Then after I put the water in, I put the lid on, set manually for 3 minutes. Then let the pressure release naturally.

Family hated the cinnamon in the rice. I’ll leave it out next time. I love having rice with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and cloves as a breakfast with milk like you would have oatmeal. But this just wasn’t working for us.

Hi! I’m Beth

As a food lover and a number cruncher I've decided that cooking on a budget shouldn't mean canned beans and ramen noodles night after night. Join me for delicious recipes designed for small budgets. More »